Sonnet Form
Rhyme Scheme
Italian or Petrarchan
abbaabba cde cde
abbaabba cc dd ee
abbaabba cdcd ee
English or Shakespearean
abab cdcd efef gg
Sonnet
A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem in a single stanza, in which lines of iambic
pentameter are linked by an elaborate rhyme scheme.
There are two main types of sonnet rhyme scheme.
Petrarchan or Italian sonnet
Divides into an octave (eight lines) and a sestet (six lines); the first part rhymes
abbaabba, and the second part allows some variation (cde cde; cdcd ee; cc dd ee).
Ordinarily,
OCTAVE
SESTET
-establishes a problem or situation
-resolves problem
-states general proposition
-makes application of proposition
-establish one part of comparison
-completes the comparison
Read “Nature” by Longfellow pg. 298
 Write the rhyme scheme.

Overall, what is this poem about?

What is the analogy or comparison established in the octave? What completes the
comparison in the sestet?

According to the poem, how is the pain of death softened by Nature?


What are the “playthings” to which the poet refers? How do they become
broken?
What is the overall tone of this poem?

Is the similar to other poetry we’ve read? What poem? How so?
Shakespearean or English sonnet
Divides into three quatrains (four-line groupings) and a final couplet, rhyming
abab cdcd efef gg. The structure of the English sonnet usually follows the
Petrarchan, or explores variations on a theme in the first three quatrains and
concludes with an epigrammatic couplet. Usually, each quatrain is a variation on
the basic theme, and the final couplet draws a conclusion about it.
In Shakespeare's Sonnet 29, the subject shifts towards a conclusion in the third
quatrain and ends with the epigram.
SONNET 29
When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possess'd,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remember'd such wealth brings
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
In sonnet sequences, or cycles, a series of sonnets are linked by a common theme.
Though sonnets began as love poetry and were introduced to England as such by Thomas
Wyatt, the form was extended to other subjects and other structures by Donne, Milton
and later writers such as Keats, Dylan Thomas, and e. e. cummings.
John Donne
72. "Death be not proud, though some have called thee"
DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,
Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,
And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,
And better then thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;
One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
5
10
Activity 1: WRITE YOUR OWN SONNET (Due 2/13 for Poetry Slam)
How to get started:
 Brainstorm possible themes
 Identify tone you want sonnet to follow
 Brainstorm words you could use that fit each theme and tone. Create a word wall.
 For example: Dickinson used gossamer, tippet, and tulle rather than shroud when
choosing words for burial clothing.
 Select the theme for which you identified the most words
 Select a sonnet style: Petrarchan or Shakespearean
 Begin…Remember to keep the rhyme scheme
Activity 2: Snow Day Poetry (due 2/13 for Poetry Slam)
Write your own poem about the snow day using at least one hyperbole and a few
examples of imagery.
Activity 3: Own Original Poem---poets choice (due 2/13 for Poetry Slam)